10 Most Underrated Ozzy Osbourne Songs
7. Hellraiser - No More Tears
It's no secret that Ozzy is not the sole composer of all of his own solo music. Throughout every iteration of his career, he has utilized the best songwriters and backing musicians to get the right kind of sound he aims for across every record. Though people sing the praises of people like Randy Rhoads and Zakk Wylde, there are some high-profile guest stars behind the scenes.
On the surface, Hellraiser is a far grittier track than you are used to hearing from Ozzy, whose melody is as much indebted to the punkier side of the music than anything dark and gloomy. While that doesn't necessarily sound like the greatest fit, it starts to make sense once you realize that one of the key writers on this song was Lemmy Kilmster from Motorhead. Compared to the straight ahead style of his previous act, Lemmy is really able to sit in the song and write the perfect gravelly tone that suits Ozzy's voice perfectly.
In fact, maybe it was too good. After releasing this on No More Tears, the song ended up taking on a life of its own when the Motorhead version got picked up, outshining the original artist he had written it for. Even though this is looked at more like a Motorhead song nowadays, it's still nice to revisit Ozzy singing Lemmy's ode to the rock and roll lifestyle.